The campus community mourns the passing of Richard C. “Dick” Skelton ’60, M’70, P’92, who died on August 17, 2020. Dick retired from Student Services & Enrollment Planning, now Enrollment Management, in 2000 after decades of service.
In addition to his employment at Bucknell, Dick earned his undergraduate and master’s degree at Bucknell, and was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity, Delta Mu Delta business honor society and ROTC. Dick was an avid golfer and would rarely miss a Bucknell Basketball or Football game. He was a member of the Bertrand Society and volunteered for Bucknell, including service on his Class Reunion Leadership Team and Giving Committee, and earned the Alumni Award for Loyalty to Bucknell in 2014 from the Alumni Association. Both his wife, Cynthia ’68, and daughter, Melissa ‘92, are Bucknell alums.
Dick was truly a legendary figure, known to generations of Bucknellians.
Included below is the complete text of the obituary, as provided by the family.
You are encouraged to visit our In Memoriam Site at bucknell.edu/InMemoriam and share personal notes of sympathy and remembrance with others.
On behalf of our entire University community, I extend our deepest sympathies to Dick’s family, as well as to all who knew him at Bucknell.
John C. Bravman
President
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Richard C. Skelton, 82, of Lewisburg, passed away Monday evening, Aug. 17, 2020, at Buffalo Valley Lutheran Village, Lewisburg.
Dick was born March 15, 1938, in Scranton, a son of the late Clarence “Slim” and Alice (Beebe) Skelton. He was married to the former Cynthia Ann Helgren and his death breaks a marital union of 52 years.
He was a first lieutenant in the Army and served as an information officer at Fort Knox from 1961-1962.
He received a bachelor of science (1960) and a master’s in business administration (1970), both from Bucknell University.
Dick worked at U.S. Steel from 1960-1963 and retired as assistant vice president for student services and enrollment planning at Bucknell University after 37 years of service (1963-2000).
He was an active member of Christ’s Evangelical Lutheran Church of Lewisburg where he had served on the council and usher team, the American Legion, Sigma Chi Fraternity, remaining active with the chapter through the years. He enjoyed golf, baseball (especially the Mets and Pirates), collecting baseball gloves, and for several years was a Meals on Wheels volunteer. Above all, he enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by daughters, Melissa and husband Michael Michaud and Julie and husband Brian Lonardo; grandchildren, Katherine and Richard Michaud, and Trey Lonardo; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Private services will be held at the convenience of the family, with a public memorial to be held at a future, post-pandemic date. Donations in Dick’s memory may be made to the Skelton Scholarship at Bucknell University, the Evangelical Community Hospital or to Christ’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lewisburg.
Funeral arrangements are by the John H. Shaw III Funeral Home, Market and Eighth streets Lewisburg.
To expand on one aspect of Dick’s remarkable contributions to Bucknell, Dick Skelton, as head of the effort to recruit each successive entering class, had an amazing ability to forecast what the final size of the entering class would be – usually within 5 students – and to artfully deploy the admissions team to achieve the target number set by the President and senior administrators. Dick was the consensus “dean” of collegiate admissions officers for Pennsylvania and surrounding states, and Bucknell was much envied for having him.